Cable and satellite content providers provide receivers that support both conventional one-way communication from the TV signal headend to the receiver and two-way communication between the headend and the receiver. Such two-way communication is often used to support “interactive digital video,” such as pay-per-view, video-on-demand, VCR-like pause, rewind, and fast forward, Internet TV, etc.
The Open Cable Application Platform (OCAP) defines an application platform interface implemented by the TV receiver platform that allows software applications, downloaded to the receiver, to communicate with the receiver through a common standard interface and exploit its functionality. In turn, the OCAP interface communicates through the receiver's communication port with the TV signal headend. In this way, for example, viewer purchases of video-on-demand may be facilitated, with the purchased video then transmitted from the headend to the receiver, to be decrypted and then displayed on the TV screen.
Today, set top boxes provide very basic conditional access. However, the cable industry is eyeing the advantages of providing access to home networks, gateways, IP devices, computers and cell phones. However, to provide access to content, the delivery of content must be managed. For example, a content provider needs to manage what content goes to which device.
Removable cards provide proprietary decryption functionality for received TV audio and video thereby enabling Digital Rights Management (DRM) by content providers. Removable cards enable consumers to purchase TV receivers, such as set-top boxes, in one provider area, which can then be used in another provider area. The set-top box remains useful in all cable provider areas because the remaining components of the receiver typically are not proprietary.
DRM is the enabling technology behind new business models based on content delivery to devices—any content, to any device, any time, anywhere, anyhow, with advertising. DRM functionality is just as important as the user interface and Program Guide (PG) in influencing what can be done with content, and is thus a major factor in influencing the user experience.
A DRM technology solution should provide product usability that is recognized for its simplicity and consistency, where DRM is at the core of enabling ease of use of content across platforms. The DRM technology should also support wireless growth by enabling video to mobile devices using DRM. Further, the DRM technology should meet major market product deployment and enhancements within a tight timeframe to allow quick adaptation quickly to the customers' ever changing modes of content consumption.
It is possible for a cable system operator to provide its own DRM. However, different devices may be attached to the cable system. Some of the devices could be managed by the cable system operator, while others are not managed by the cable system operator. In the latter case, these other devices may use different access control technologies.
As indicated above, content is made available to these IP devices in home networking. Nevertheless, conditional access is terminated at a central point in the home, e.g., a gateway. For that termination point, a new content management system must have a new content protection management plane that provides link protection between a source and a sync.
Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) is a digital rights management (DRM) technology. DTCP is designed to protect audio and audiovisual content from unauthorized copying, intercepting and tampering as it is transported over high-performance digital interconnects within a localized network, such as a home or personal digital network environment. However, DTCP alone is not good enough as to wide band switching services in terms of content delivery, advertising and commerce. DTCP fails to express business rules in terms of what can be done with the content, e.g., when, how content can be combined with advertising, how content is sent to a combination of cell phones, IP terminals, computers and what formats and flavors can be transcoded.
Accordingly, providing a managed security domain onto a third party domain would allow the control and transfer of content to and from all devices.